Chapter 552: Chapter 538: An Exquisite Work of Art

In order to host Huang Tao and his daughter, Lin Wenli really spared no expense!

First, she used the electric pressure cooker to stew an old duck, then steamed some seafood, and finally did all sorts of frying, stirring, and boiling!

Of course.

Being a chef, Huang Tao felt it inappropriate to let Master’s wife hustle alone in the kitchen.

After chatting with Li Zhicheng, he went to the kitchen and volunteered to help.

At first, Lin Wenli declined once or twice.

But she couldn’t resist her heart that craved Huang Tao’s culinary skills!

Eventually!

She nodded in agreement and handed the cooking position to Huang Tao, while she retreated to the second line to assist and support him.

Huang Tao noticed some ingredients Lin Wenli bought were suitable for making dishes from the restaurant, and saw she bought pork intestines, and there was pork bone broth stewing on the stove.

So then...

He got an itch to cook something, and made Nine-Turned Large Intestine.

Of course.

This time, he followed the recipe awarded by the system to make it.

But when Lin Wenli and Li Zhicheng learned that Huang Tao was going to make this dish, their eyes widened uncontrollably.

Anyone who hears the name of this dish would have an inexplicable urge to eat it.

The two elders were no exception!

No way!

Who can blame the dish for having such a big reputation...

Plus it was made by Huang Tao, giving the old couple an inexplicable sense of expectation.

Furthermore, when little Xuanxuan heard her dad was making Nine-Turned Large Intestine, she proudly said she had eaten the Nine-Turned Large Intestine her dad made, and it was very delicious. After saying this, she instinctively licked the corner of her lips with her little tongue.

This time.

It completely maxed out the expectations of the old couple, and they were happy to have a gourmet lunch.

Right now.

After Huang Tao added sugar to the pot, he lightly stirred it with a frying spatula. Once all the white sugar melted, he added a big bowl of pork bone broth.

Next, he covered the pot, turned the heat to low, and let the broth slowly simmer those pork intestines.

This simmering took some time.

About twenty minutes or so!

Taking advantage of this free time, he took a rectangular plate out of the cabinet, washed it, dried it, and placed it on the workbench to prepare for plating.

Then, he took the pre-prepared and cooled caramel over.

This made Lin Wenli, who was assisting and observing to steal some skills, very puzzled, not knowing what he was going to do?

"Oh, by the way, Master’s wife, do you have piping bags and nozzles in your house?"

Huang Tao recalled and asked.

"Yes, yes, I’ll get them for you."

Though puzzled by his actions, Lin Wenli didn’t ask more, but immediately rummaged in the cabinet and handed him the piping tools.

Huang Tao cut off the tip of the piping bag, making the opening diameter the same as the middle diameter of the nozzle, then placed the nozzle into the bag, and filled it with caramel,

He squeezed the piping bag, drawing a curved line in the plate at an angle.

Huh?

What’s going on?

Just as Lin Wenli was curious, she saw Huang Tao picking up the piping tools again, continuing to draw.

This time, he drew another curved line inside the plate, very close to the previous one.

The curves were very similar.

Was he going to paint on the plate?!

Lin Wenli’s slightly surprised face was silently replaced by surprise.

Huang Tao continued drawing, using chopsticks to smooth out some excess caramel.

When he straightened up, Lin Wenli finally saw the artwork on the plate clearly.

It was a crooked tree branch, and the brown caramel was very similar in color to a dead branch.

The whole painting was sparse and orderly. The brown branches were striking against the porcelain white plate.

Although Lin Wenli knew little about art, she could immediately see Huang Tao’s high artistic skills, with the branches on the plate having a strong sense of desolation.

At first glance, she thought it was a printed pattern on the plate!

But...

Why leave some twigs at the end of these branches?

Was it meant to be loaded with...

She glanced at the pork intestines still simmering in the pot and suddenly understood.

If it were a painter who painted it like this, she wouldn’t guess its purpose. But since Huang Tao was a chef, if a chef painted on a plate, what else could it be for?

Nothing but for plating!

However, Huang Tao being able to draw a dead branch on a plate with caramel really surprised her!

No doubt, it was painted brilliantly!

She couldn’t help but praise, "Huang Tao, your painting is so good, so beautiful!"

"Master’s wife overpraises me."

Huang Tao smiled slightly, "Just a casual graffiti, not worth mentioning."

He then busied himself checking the cooking status of other dishes.

Soon.

The broth in the pot of pork intestines had almost evaporated, leaving only oil.

The intestines were thoroughly colored, and the bright red hue was mouthwatering at first glance.

Huang Tao lifted the lid, sprinkling pepper powder, cinnamon powder, and cardamom powder one by one into the pot. Turning up the heat, he tossed the intestines to mix the flavors evenly in the pot.

Seeing the remaining broth also nearly gone, he drizzled a bit of pepper oil into the pot, stirred a few more times, and poured it into a clean plate beside.

Then he took a pair of chopsticks, picked up a section of the intestine head from the plate, and vertically placed it at the blank space by the twigs on the plate.

Five small segments of pork intestines were placed on a twig.

From a top view...

The red sections of pork intestines looked like a blooming plum blossom, even more beautiful.

Then.

He turned over those with toothpicks, removed the toothpicks.

Placed five segments of pork intestines on each remaining blank branch.

Forming five plum blossoms.

With the dead branches on the plate, making a picture of winter plum blossoms!

Just looking at it was poetic.

As if it was not just a dish but an exquisite piece of art.

"So beautiful! So pretty that one wouldn’t dare to eat it!"

Lin Wenli’s mouth involuntarily formed an O-shape.

Her exclamation also caught the attention of Xuanxuan, who was watching Peppa Pig cartoons in the living room, and Li Zhicheng, who was accompanying and reading the newspaper.

Plus, the enticing aroma prompted the old and the young to rush to the kitchen to see.

"Wow... so beautiful..."

Xuanxuan exclaimed, her little mouth wide open as if an egg could fit in, then covered it ladylike with her little hand.

Huang Tao smiled.

Seems like even kids live in an era that values aesthetics!

Li Zhicheng also exclaimed, "It’s indeed beautiful! This is simply a piece of art..."

Actually, he also studied art for a few years and has some proficiency. In his free time, he occasionally paints to cultivate his mind.

He considers his drawings pretty decent.

But if he were to paint on a plate with piping tools...

Alright!

He probably could do it too!

But the final result certainly couldn’t compare to Huang Tao’s!

His most could only be called doodling!

As Li Zhicheng gazed at Huang Tao’s work, he sighed at how many surprises this mentee held in store for him...

Still, he was quite curious.

"Tao, where did you learn to paint on plates?"

Huang Tao smiled, "I learned it online."

Huh?

Online again?!

Li Zhicheng and Lin Wenli were both surprised.

Huang Tao continued, "I thought it looked nice, so I practiced a bit in my free time. It’s actually quite simple."

Li Zhicheng was filled with envy. Huang Tao’s talent is genuinely high! Just learning casually online, he learned so well, so skillfully.

In contrast, if he didn’t have a teacher to guide him and only learned from online materials, his drawings would definitely turn out awful.

Thinking this, he felt he might be a bit unqualified as a teacher...